Chapter 1
Edward Grant rented out all of Azure Bay to throw me the wedding of the century.
A massive fleet of drones lit up the night sky, mapping out our perfect wedding portrait.
Then, the image on the giant screen flickered.
It was replaced by a photoshopped picture of me in slutty lingerie. Next to it were two lines of blood-red text written in Celorian.
It basically meant, "Desperate slut. Pay to play."
Everyone in the crowd gasped in shock.
Isabelle Gibson was a poor student Edward had been sponsoring. She stood there, her eyes red and glistening with tears.
"I swear I don't know what that says," she sobbed. "I literally just copied some random quote I saw online..."
I lost it. I chucked my champagne glass right at Isabelle.
Edward caught her and pulled her against his chest to protect her.
"Isabelle's just a small-town girl. She doesn't know any better," he snapped at me. "Why are you acting so crazy?"
He clearly forgot one major detail.
This entire luxury cruise ship belonged to the Herman family, which meant it was mine.
I snatched the mic and said, "Security, get these two losers off my ship. Throw them overboard.
"Oh, and let Mr. Quinn know—he's the groom now."
*****
Azure Bay was absolutely breathtaking tonight.
High above, three thousand drones swarmed the sky, shifting into a massive glowing portrait of Edward and me.
I stood right in the center of the deck, draped in my custom bridal gown.
Tears pricked my eyes as I looked up at our smiling faces shining against the stars.
It had taken us ten long years to get to this moment.
He started out as the Grant family's unwanted, illegitimate son, and I've been in his corner ever since.
I used to go to endless networking dinners for him, drinking myself into the ER with a bleeding ulcer.
I even pawned my mother's jewelry to keep his business afloat.
And finally, today was the day he was making me his wife.
"Now," the MC announced, "a special surprise from the groom."
The words had barely left his mouth when the giant LED screen glitched.
Our beautiful wedding portrait blacked out completely.
A picture of me in slutty lingerie popped up instead.
That face belonged to me, but the body was clearly a cheap photoshop job.
Next to it were two lines of blood-red text written in Celorian. It basically meant, "Desperate slut. Pay to play."
All three hundred of Riventon's ultra-rich elites froze in place.
People stopped with their champagne glasses halfway to their mouths.
A dead silence fell over the deck, leaving only the sound of waves hitting the ship.
My mind went completely blank for three seconds.
Then, I saw Isabelle pushing her way through the crowd.
She wore a white evening gown and clutched a USB drive, her eyes looking red and teary.
Scurrying right up behind Edward, she grabbed the hem of his jacket.
"Edward," she whimpered. "I'm so sorry.
"You asked me to add a Celorian blessing to the wedding slideshow.
"But I don't speak the language, so I just grabbed some random quote I found online.
"I swear I had no idea what it meant."
Her voice was soft and shaky, on the verge of breaking into sobs.
As the male guests looked at her, the judgment in their eyes began to melt into pity.
My grip on the champagne flute tightened.
I ignored Isabelle and stared dead at Edward.
I waited for his reaction.
I just needed him to step up and say something in my defense.
Even an order to turn the screen off would have been enough.
Edward did open his mouth.
With a deep frown, he turned around.
A part of me thought he would look up at the giant screen, but he never even glanced at it.
He just stared at Isabelle's teary eyes and reached out to pet her hair. "Hey, don't cry. I'm not blaming you."
My grip on the glass became a vice.
My nails dug deep into my palms, but I couldn't feel the sting.
Whatever was breaking inside my chest drowned out everything else.
Isabelle looked over at me with those big, teary eyes. "Serena, can you ever forgive me?"
Rather than giving her an answer, I chucked my champagne glass right at her face.
The glass hit with a loud crash and shattered.
It never reached her face, though, because Edward threw his arm up to block it.
The glass exploded against his forearm, sending sharp pieces flying all over the deck.
Without missing a beat, he wrapped his other arm around Isabelle and tucked her safely against his chest.
I stood there, paralyzed.
Edward was a total neat freak.
Normally, he'd bite his own assistant's head off just for standing too close to him.
But right now, Isabelle was sobbing into his suit, getting tears and snot all over him.
And he didn't even flinch.